American Idol: Top 36 Revealed!

Posted Wed Feb 11, 2009 7:22pm PST by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks After last night's Idol blog, there seems to be some confusion, most of it caused by yours truly. I apparently contradicted myself multiple times last night, praising some contestants for being "good TV" (Nathaniel Marshall, Norman Gentle) while criticizing others for being nothing more than ratings-magnet drama queens (Tatiana Del Toro, for one). And I additionally applauded other contestants, like Leneshe Young and Jasmine Murray, for being mellow and drama-free. So which is it, some readers understandably queried. What exactly do I want from American Idol? Do I want good TV, or do I want good singers? The answer, dear readers, is I want both. Duh! Sorry I wasn't clearer last night. Yes, I admit I enjoy all the drama and hype and ridiculousness that comes with AmIdol. Contestant catfighting, awesomely awful auditions...bring it on, I say. But ultimately, if all a contestant has to offer is "good TV," then I'm not going to buy their not-so-good albums once their TV show is over, am I? So this is why I like, say, Nathaniel Marshall. The guy is a total hoot, a camera hog, a basket case who bursts into tears if anyone so much as glances at him sideways. Fabulous! That's some must-see TV, right there. But...Nathaniel can sing, too. This is the same reason why I liked Danny Noriega and Josiah Leming last season--both boys made for gripping ...